One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

"Senior Sister Tao... she, she..."

Xu Lingfei's voice, which was already somewhat hoarse, was now so choked up that he could barely make a sound. His face was filled with sorrow and despair.

Zhang Lingqiu was slightly taken aback.

Looking into the other person's heartbroken state, those cold eyes were momentarily at a loss for what expression to make.

"Hmm... Junior Brother Xu."

Zhang Lingqiu coughed lightly and said calmly, "Don't be sad. Senior Sister Tao is fine; she's perfectly alright in the back."

"Um, I... uh?"

Xu Lingfei's tears, which were welling up to the edge of his eyes and were about to burst forth, were abruptly and abruptly stopped in mid-air!

His mouth was half-open, and the sorrow on his face froze awkwardly.

"puff……"

Beside him, Ye Cheng, who was checking the bandages on his sixth child, paused. He almost choked on his breath.

He quickly lowered his head, pretended to cough, his face flushed, and his shoulders trembled.

The campfire crackled and popped, its light illuminating Xu Lingfei's bewildered face.

Xu Lingfei was stunned for two seconds before suddenly realizing what was happening.

He quickly raised his hand and haphazardly wiped his face, wiping away the embarrassing wetness from the corner of his eyes.

"..."

"cough."

Xu Lingfei coughed lightly, the sob still lingering in his voice, the last syllable of his words fading uncontrollably:

"That's...that's good, that's good."

Xu Lingfei looked at the group of only three people in front of him and asked in confusion:

"Then why are there only three of you?"

"Three days ago, we saw the secret marks you left in that forest of dead trees that had been struck by lightning."

"!!!"

Xu Lingfei's breath hitched.

His bloodshot eyes widened: "You...you saw it?!"

"I saw it."

Zhang Lingqiu nodded, his tone calm:

"It was your senior sister Tao who spotted it first. Junior brother Xunfeng saw the upward hook at the end of the mark and realized it was the Zhongnan Mountain carving style. We were still guessing at the time whether it belonged to your third team or the fifth team."

"...And then?" Xu Lingfei pressed on eagerly.

"Then, we followed that secret mark and headed east."

Zhang Lingqiu continued:

"On the second day of the chase, we discovered extensive signs of a battle in that bare, grayish-white forest ahead."

"Large numbers of broken, withered trees, and scorched earth overturned by the blast wave. Most importantly, extremely strong remnants of Taoist thunder magic remained at the scene."

Zhang Lingqiu paused.

"Those marks are all very fresh."

"Judging from the remaining traces, it has been no more than twelve hours."

"..."

"We immediately realized that you were definitely fighting against heretical cults, and that the situation was critical."

Zhang Lingqiu spoke in a very flat tone, as if he were stating something extremely simple.

"But at that time, we had four seriously wounded soldiers in our team. If everyone traveled together, it would be impossible for us to catch up with you in such a short time."

"Therefore, the three of us will break away from the group first and pursue them lightly."

"..."

"Thank goodness, it's settled then."

Zhang Lingqiu looked at Xu Lingfei, a hint of relief in his eyes:

"Otherwise, we might still be twenty miles away right now. And you might be..."

"..."

Zhang Lingqiu didn't say the rest aloud, but everyone around the campfire understood perfectly.

Without the divine assistance of these three, once the Divine Thunder Shield broke tonight, Xu Lingfei and his group of seven would have faced a tragic end, their souls and bodies annihilated!

Xu Lingfei also looked relieved, as if he had survived a disaster.

But then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he abruptly raised his head.

"etc!"

Xu Lingfei looked at Zhang Lingqiu with suspicion: "Four seriously wounded? Your first squad...didn't you only leave three people behind? Where did these four seriously wounded come from?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Zhang Lingqiu looked at him, "About that forest struck by lightning..."

"The body of the hall master that you saw in that withered forest, split in two, and the remains of the evil cultivators scattered all over the ground."

Zhang Lingqiu said in a heavy tone, "That battle wasn't fought by our first squad."

"what?"

Xu Lingfei was completely stunned: "You didn't do it? Then... then who was that team we were so hopeful about, the one we thought was nearby?!"

"That's the second squad. Wen Daoqing's squad."

"Senior Brother Wen from Laoshan?!" Xu Lingfei gasped.

"Um."

Zhang Lingqiu nodded. "It's a cruel twist of fate, and they were caught in a desperate situation. They were being chased by an elder of the Luoyin Sect, who led a team of elites. In their panic, they fled into a dead valley with sheer cliffs on three sides."

"That dead valley, is it near the withered forest where you left your secret mark..."

Zhang Lingqiu said, "The straight-line distance is probably less than twenty li."

"How are they now?" Xu Lingfei asked urgently.

"When we arrived, they were just like you tonight, almost completely exhausted. Senior Brother Wen forced the Golden Armored General to kill the enemy leader, and suffered a great backlash."

Zhang Lingqiu's voice gradually faded.

"Their team..."

"!!!"

Sitting on the edge of the fire, Xu Hao, the man who always carried the tassel of the Zhongnan Mountain sword, suddenly shuddered!

"Senior Brother Chen... Senior Brother Chen?!"

Xu Hao's voice went completely silent in an instant, his bloodshot eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

"..."

"Senior Brother Chen Xufeng, to cover the retreat of your teammates..."

Zhang Lingqiu turned his head, looked at Xu Hao, and slowly said:

"His heart meridian was pierced by the evil cultivator's poisonous magic weapon."

"..."

Xu Hao's lips trembled violently. He opened his mouth as if to shout something, but in the end, not a single syllable came out.

He slowly, as if all his strength had been drained away. He lowered his head, one hand tightly covering his mouth.

His shoulders began to heave violently, and large, hot tears fell onto the cold, gravelly ground.

"That Fellow Daoist Zhao..."

Xu Lingfei spoke with difficulty, his voice dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.

"Zhao Tiezhu from Northern Sichuan".

Jiang Shou, who had been leaning against the rock and listening quietly to the conversation, finally spoke.

His eyes, which appeared extremely deep in the darkness, gazed at the flickering firelight.

"He stood alone, blocking the narrowest passage in Death Valley."

"To buy time for the four seriously injured comrades who had fallen to the ground, he single-handedly held them off until the very last moment."

Jiang Shou's voice was soft, yet every word carried immense weight.

"When we arrived."

"The person is gone. But their hand is still gripping the sword hilt tightly."

A deathly silence fell around the campfire.

Even the night wind seemed to have stopped howling.

Zhang Jingqing, the prodigy of Longhu Mountain who had been half-conscious, leaning against the cold rock wall, slowly opened his eyes.

He didn't look at anyone, but stared blankly at the dark night sky above. His once bright and proud eyes were now filled with an unyielding sorrow.